Studio Make Light founders Minsang Cho and Sam Liu came from diverse backgrounds, and this may be key to understanding their success and popularity.

Minsang Cho graduated with an MA in Metal Craft at Seoul National University, and went on complete his MA in Product Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Sam Liu himself was trained as architect at the Architectural Association (AA) in London, and their partnership arguably epitomizes what their design is all about: connecting architecture and design fields in a spirit of creative innovation.

When talking about their design ethos, Sam Liu quipped: “Light, like air, is essential to us, but with an added magical dimension to it. Day and night, sunrise and sunset, results of light and movement. this gives us the basic rhythms and beautiful moments of a day. We would like to give people a closer physical experience of light and bring that magic to them.”

This has seen Studio Make Light participate in many interesting projects and shows over the past few years, including Salone de Satelite 2005 in Milan, Tactile Nature London Design Week 2005, Luminale 2006 in Frankfurt, and 100% Design 2006 in London.

One of the highlights certainly include the 2006 Luminale in Frankfurt, where a park in Frankfurt was transformed into a fairy tale landscape inspired by the magical forest in Brother Grimms’ stories:

“We dreamt of a place where visitors of all ages can enjoy the space created by light and leave with a smile on their faces.”

Studio Make Light has also worked on commercial applications of their light designs, including a bespoke installation for TOFU Fashion store in Covent Garden that has passersby turning their heads in amazement. They have also won plaudits for their work at the trendy eye boutique Michel Guillon on Sloane Square. Stockists are found in Madrid (Spain), Lucca (Italy), and Paris (France).

Studio Make Light explain their ideas as follows: "Studio Make Light does not believe in static lighting design. We believe instead in dynamic light compositions that move without necessarily moving, by creating a moving experience for the user. We believe in the simplicity of re-injecting a sense of wonder in everyday objects.

We draw our inspiration from the experiences that move us, those nuanced emotions between light and half-light: of dawn licking the face of still-somnolent windows, pregnant clouds punctuated by sudden staccatos, and dusk collecting under restive eaves. We think: Light source. Filter. Movement without moving. Simplicity."

When speaking of their current work exhibited at the 100% Design Exhibition 2007 in London, Minsang Cho shared this insight: “We have been thinking about how to make space with light in the past year. How to change the relationship of light in space. How to replace the wall, the ceiling, and the floor with light. And how to lighten up that space with it.”

This notion of interactivity and dynamically changing relationship with light led to one of Studio Make Light’s wildly popular designs – The Pong light. The modular (and one may hazard, molecular) structure of the pong light lends itself to different arrangements, and may extend from a table lamp to a floor lamp or even a ceiling light due to its connectivity.